The Post Office chairman has been pushed out of his role following the Horizon IT scandal, reports say.
10.01.2024 - 12:01 / dailyrecord.co.uk
The Post Office tried to play down the potential impact of its dodgy IT system on criminal trials in Scotland, prosecutors have revealed.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) admitted yesterday it first became aware of issues with the Horizon accounting system as far back as 2013.
The bug-ridden Fujitsu software was responsible for ruining the lives of nearly 1,000 sub-postmasters across the UK, with hundreds being wrongly prosecuted for crimes such as theft and embezzlement.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office has now revealed the Post Office claimed in 2013 the system would have no impact on its legal cases.
Just 16 former sub-postmasters in Scotland had applied for their convictions to be reviewed by the end of last year - but it is estimated at least a further 80 could have the right to appeal.
Asked if the Crown Office chose not to look again at the convictions in Scotland relating to Horizon because of assurances from the Post Office, a spokesperson said it could not provide a response.
They added: "Retained records demonstrate that COPFS were first made aware of potential problems with the Horizon computer system in May 2013.
“However, we were told by the Post Office at that time that these potential problems did not impact on any of our cases.”
The Crown Office said it estimates up to 100 people were convicted in Scotland as a result of Horizon.
Angela Constance told MSPs yesterday the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has sent seven cases to the appeal court, two of which have resulted in overturned convictions.
The SNP Justice Secretary added that ministers were considering a scheme to pardon all sub-postmasters in Scotland caught up in the Horizon IT scandal
Deputy Crown agent Kenny Donnelly
The Post Office chairman has been pushed out of his role following the Horizon IT scandal, reports say.
The prosecutor who took a wrongly-convicted Scottish postmaster to court made the decision based entirely on a report by Post Office investigators, an inquiry has heard.
A former sub-postmaster wrongly convicted over the Horizon scandal says he can finally hold his head up high after a court overturned the case today.
Britain's oldest Post Office scandal victim left Good Morning Britain viewers in tears as she detailed how she was hounded during her retirement, as she nursed her dying husband. Former employee Betty Brown, 91, said she was forced to quit by managers who blamed her age for the financial losses at the branch she ran with fellow postmaster, husband Oswall.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that only a 'handful' of cases linked to the Horizon scandal may have been handled by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during his time in charge of the organisation. The Labour leader, who was the Director of Public Prosecutions at the CPS between 2008 and 2013, has said he was not aware of Horizon cases brought against subpostmasters.
Actor Toby Jones has won the nation's hearts while portraying real life hero Alan Bates in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and fans have been left shocked after discovering a rather surprising role he had in the past.Toby, 57, has starred in a number of popular films and TV shows, and has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Unvierse, the Harry Potter franchise, and The Hunger Games trilogy. He appeared as Dr.
Everyone in Scotland convicted as part of the Horizon Post Office scandal will be cleared, Humza Yousaf has said.
Acclaimed Brit actor Toby Jones has been impressing viewers as activist and former sub-postmaster Alan Bates in the series Mr Bates vs the Post Office - and it has emerged that the 57-year-old father of two made a huge sacrifice just to get the show off the ground. Since its release on New Year’s Day, the gripping ITV drama has brought the shocking real-life Post Office scandal back into the spotlight, as well as the real-life people involved, with viewers outraged at the miscarriage of justice which took place, against hundreds of innocent postal workers.
A move to consider automatic pardons for Scots victims of the Horizon scandal was celebrated last night by wrongly-convicted post masters.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has confirmed that she will hand back her CBE following the fallout of the Horizon IT scandal, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters.
This Morning fans were left in tears as the real-life Mr Bates made an appearance on the programme, alongside his wife, Suzanne. Alan and Suzanne have been thrust back into the spotlight after the release of ITV's new series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Rishi Sunak has said he would 'strongly support' the Honours Forfeiture Committee if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Paula Vennells' CBE in the wake of the Horizon scandal.
Labour has called for prosecution powers to be stripped from the Post Office and previous convictions looked at again following the Horizon scandal.
A petition asking for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE because of the Horizon scandal has now got over one million signatures.
A petition demanding ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells is stripped of her CBE has soared to nearly 500,000 signatures in recent days.The urgent demand from viewers comes after the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office focusing on 'the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history' - aired on ITV and ITVX on New Year's Day. The limited series detailed the real life events of 2009, when a group of sub-postmasters formed the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance, after a defective IT system called Horizon led to a slew of wrongful prosecutions of fraud, theft and false accounting. A petition calling for the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE quickly passed 350,000 signatures following the final episode of the ITV1 drama on Thursday night.
Throughout the first week of January, ITV viewers at home have been gripped by fresh new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which followed the real life journey of several sub-postmasters who were wrongfully accused (and in some cases even charged) with stealing from the Post Office, thanks to a Horizon computer error.The show, which spanned across four nights in total, saw a star studded cast including Toby Jones, Will Mellor and Julie Hesmondhalgh bring the story to life, including their ongoing fight for justice and compensation for the hundreds of people that were still affected by the error. In emotional scenes, fans saw the toll of the scandal with their own eyes, with several of the accused having lost their jobs, their homes and in some cases even having taken their own lives after struggling to cope with the mental toll of being wrongfully blamed for the error.
Will Mellor has said he was left 'fuming' portraying one of the Post Office scandal victims and has demanded action following the conclusion of a four-part ITV drama. The actor has portrayed Lee Castleton in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office - a new limited drama series focusing on 'the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history' - aired on ITV and ITV X on New Year's Day.The show follows the real life events of 2009, when a group of sub-postmasters formed the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance, after a defective IT system called Horizon led to a slew of wrongful prosecutions of fraud, theft and false accounting. But while plenty of viewers went through a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the duration of the available four episodes, it was the final instalment that left fans the most teary eyed of all.
Will Mellor was left "fuming" after playing Lee Castleton, a victim of the Post Office scandal, in ITV's series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.The series tells the true story of Alan Bates and his fight for justice following the Post Office scandal in the late 90s. The cast, alongside Will, 47, includes Toby Jones, Katherine Kelly, Amy Nuttall, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Monica Dolan, Lia Williams and Alex Jennings.There are four episodes in the series, with all of them available to watch on ITVX. After filming, Will questioned how those responsible for the crisis could live with themselves and labelled it as "vile" that former Post Office boss Paula Vennells received a CBE.
ITV1's Mr Bates vs the Post Office retells the story of how hundreds of innocent subpostmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft.